Promised Confession
by GlitteredCupcakes
Summary: Naruto planned on confessing to Sakura when he fullfill his promise. so what happen when he confesses? NaruSaku fic that i enjoyed writing from all my heart \*u*/ (there is a continuation for the happy ending, on December,2014) EDITED
1. Promised Confession

_After the War_

The village was being re-constructed again after the Fourth Shinobi war, there were so many makeshift building near the hospital to provide more space and aid injured ninjas, they weren't specifically from Konoha, they were from all the nations, Tsunade gave an order to treat all shinobi as a kind act towards the shinobi alliance. Sakura spent most time treating the injured shinobi and civilians who were hurting in the process of all of this chaos that happened, she was practically living in the hospital, sometimes she would sleep there under all the papers, until Ino comes in and scold her and drag her back to her apartment,

As for the hero of the village, Naruto, he was hospitalized and it bothered him,, not so much since he made a deal with the Fifth Hokage for him to make some changes in the pinkette's schedule so he can gain her attention, making sure that his name was on the list of patients that were in her shifts.

* * *

_At the Hospital_

"How many patient you have left?" Ino asked, they were sitting in the break room, Sakura was going through some patients' check up files

"I think six more people?" scanning the names on the paper.

"Is Naruto one of them?" Ino grinned at Sakura.

She looked through the list of names more carefully, and its true his name was there,

"How did you know..?" Sakura asked, not all surprised, that pig wont ask if she wasn't hiding something,

"I figured so.." and she took a sip from the cup of coffee she was holding.

"What do you mean you _figured so"_ Sakura gave Ino a look, meaning she better say what she knows,

"i will tell you later" the blonde said, she was gonna tell her later, that naruto is changing her schedule, and Tsunade is okay with it.

Sakura raised a brow; she will make her say it now,

"Ino-san, Sakura-san there is an emergency" two nurses came in running, and so the day begun.

It was one of those first missions for a new genin team, accidents happen, one of the boys fell of a cliff and his teammate jumped to save him, one of the young shinobi got a concussion and a few broken bones, the other one must've used his back to shield him, his back was covered with bruises and cuts, the muscles were fatally injured and thankfully it wasn't something that she can't fix,

After the two genin's condition were stable, Sakura let out a sigh,

She went to her small office that was full of paper work, propped down on her desk chair and started taking each paper and reading-signing and organizing them in order, the finished the ones were marked with a red sticky note, meaning "ASAP", the sticky notes in orange meant "Better Now Than Later" and finally the green ones meant that it could be postponed for tomorrow.

She decided to go the vending machine and get herself a drink, it was getting late and she wished she can leave this all and sleep in her warm cozy bed, well, she could but then who will finish the stupid stupid paper word, on her way, Sakura saw a certain blonde already there, cursing the machine and kicking it, she chuckled at his actions.

Naruto noticed Sakura coming "Sakura-chan" his face lit up in a smile, waving at her,

She smiled back at him "Hi Naruto, what are you doing?" she asked and waved her hand in small gesture,

"Trying to get myself a drink but this damn machine swallowed my money" he frowned

"Wait" she punched the machine with her fist and several coins fell, she picked them up and handed it to him.

"This machine is the worst, use the other one" Sakura said and pointed at the one next to it.

"tha-thank you Sakura-chan" he looked at her,_ 'wow Sakura's punches came in handy, _when Naruto invited her for walk, she didn't mind and she actually felt peaceful while walking next to him, maybe because of the evening breeze that was so refreshing or because he was there, all in good shape, energetic as she always have known him, she remembered when she almost lost him in the forth shinobi war, how she saved him, but that was only little considering how many times he saved her.

He saw her expression grew broken, did something happen today? He knew that if something bad happened today she wasn't gonna tell anyone, like that one time when she almost lost a patient, she didn't talk to anyone and whenever he asked her what was wrong she would say she was "fine" and 'dont worry about it" so he had to ask her

"Sakura-chan, are you alright?" he asked

She didn't respond at first, still contemplating at the direction they walking ahead.

"Saa~aakura-chan~" he called here again, waving his hand in front of her, trying to get her attention.

Her train of thoughts were interrupted by his hands gestures, she had to think of the present, the war ended, her teammate is safe that's all what matters now "yes?"

She answered in a monotone, when she noticed his silence, her shifted her gaze to look at him, He was studying her expression.

"Sorry Naruto i was just.." she apologized for her daydreaming, she was just tired and confused…

"Just what?" he said, wanting her to continue her sentence.

"Nothing, you know Naruto, I am glad that you're safe" Sakura decided to answer with sheer honesty, the atmosphere allowed her to, it was night, they were alone and what's the problem in being sincere

She looked at him with a smile, and their eyes met, not those normal looks they would always look at each other, no it was those awkward ones where you your eyes are locked together, but it was only for a short amount of time, she looked away to break the eye contact, and when she looked back she saw a faint pink blush on his cheeks,

'_that is cute_' first thought crossed her mind, which was totally unlike her.

"Umm thanks I guess?" he smiled awkwardly.

"So how is your arm?" she changed the subject, she felt she needed too. "Better than ever, I don't need to stay in this damn hospital anymore" he complained.

"I wouldn't argue, since you have the kyuubi chakra, it heals you faster than I anticipated" she replied,

"So does that mean I can be discharged tomorrow?" he asked her with excitement in his eyes.

"You will go through a whole check up, if you're completely fine you're off to go" she crossed her arms, she knew very well, that once he' discharged he will go straight to her master, demanding for missions, '_he better get some rest while he can' _she thought.

She took a sip of her juice that she almost forgot about, "well I have to go back to work" she groaned and spun to the opposite directions taking few steps and turned her head over her shoulders "good night, I guess" she smiled at him.

This smile that he cherished and loved to see "w-wait you're going Sakura-chan? Wait I want to tell you something!" he said before she could take any more steps.

Actually, he was planning to confess to her, ever since Sasuke came back, he didn't know if he stood a chance, but promised to confess to her once his promise is fulfilled, it felt a hole in his chest that grew with each step she took to walk away, when she stopped, despite his nervousness he gathered up his courage to finally tell her and what time better than now? He had kept those feeling hidden, those feelings that he had for her ever since he saw her irresistible smile, her kissable forehead, her deep beautiful emerald eyes that captivated him. His heartbeats racing as if he ran miles, but he wasn't backing up, he was going do it

"Sakura- chan, I have been meaning to tell you this for a long time, and now with Sasuke back to us, I know that you have feelings for him but please at least hear me out"

She turned fully to him now as he took steps closer to her, he took a deep breath.

"Sakura-chan I love you" he said tonelessly.

"I love you" he said it again, more clearly, to make sure she heard him.

He saw her eyes widened,

* * *

**(edited on 5.12.2014) **_**'god this chapter was horrible, thank god i edited it'**_

**What do you think?**

**I can't promise when I will be posting the last part,**

**But it will be very soon. ≥Ö****‿****Ö≤**


	2. Sakura's resolution

_A/N: I have decided to make the story longer (more than two chapters) but I promise to update weekly. Believe it!_

_i was really hesitant in uploading this chapter, tell me if you understand anything. (i think this is the third time, am re-uploading it)_

_**Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine, it belongs to Kishi.**_

* * *

Two weeks and a half have passed, and he haven't returned, which was fine because he was sending reports back to Konoha and not fine because she was missing him., and the more she misses him the more she was sure of her feelings for him.

in the last report, it was mentioned that Naruto and some of Suna's ninja's fought the group of bandits, and were able to locate their hideout, '_that is why he was late_', the hideout contained stolen weapons, supplies, classified scrolls from several hidden villages. Suna's shinobi took it from there, and Naruto's mission was complete and he was heading back to Konoha.

* * *

Back to Naruto, once the mission was successfully done, he stayed at Suna for barely a day, slept off all the weariness from this mission and he bid farewell to the Kazekage, even though the red-headed insisted that Naruto should rest but the whiskered blonde needed to head back to the village, he missed Konoha, he felt as he left something important there, even though it was his idea to take his mind off things, yet he missed _her_. He needed to meet her. He made a mental note to write his report immediately and meet her.

Sakura estimated that Naruto would be back by tomorrow morning the latest if not tonight. Even though she missed him she also felt nervous as hell, she was going over the report he had sent for the 7th time; just to make sure she didn't miss anything. she hoped she would see him soon enough.

She went to the hospital and did her usual routine, since most of the nurses were busy with the ER. One of the nurses barged in to her office, breathing heavily trying to catch her breath, her hands on her knees, "Sa-Sakura-san! Shizune-san wants you in the ER as soon as possible" Sakura let go of all the papers and followed the nurse, she knew Shizune wouldn't ask her to the ER if it weren't a serious fatal case, however the nurse stopped her, telling her to go the section C.

'_Section C?" she thought._

before she could even step into the room, Sakura knew the required attire to access this section, an all full-body white suit and a cap that covered all her body, only showing her face. She knew that the room had a patient with a fast-spreading disease.

She stepped in to see Shizune was wearing the same thing as her. She took steps closer to the person who was lying in bed; he was surely not from Konoha.

"Sakura" Shizune called her, handing her the report for the patient. She instantly took at the file, as she read the symptoms she was wishing in the back of her mind that it wasn't what she thought, but it was.

Sakura took a look at the report and glanced back at Shizune "How many?"

"Two nurses and " her voice cracked.

"And?" looking at Shizune.

"Naruto"

In shock, she was, the name echoed in the back of her mind, checking if there was any Naruto she knows other than the Naruto she knows, and no, she only knows one Naruto and its_him_. Her body froze momentarily,

The silence covered the room, like the mist covering a battlefield.

"Ar-are you telling me that Naruto is in the confinement too?!" she tried her best not to shout. But she was.

"He was the one to find him, he came rushing into the ER, begging us to help him and we did, until we saw his symptoms, we had to take precautions" she explained.

"Sakura, he will be fine, his body didn't show anything" she added.

"And the two nurses?" she asked

"The same, but they should be isolated for a two weeks to make sure they don't carry the disease"

"I know," she muttered under her breath.

"But what about him?" she inquired.

"We sent a team to fetch the medicine from the Waterfall Village, they should be back in five days max" Shizune responded, yet she was worried, Sakura was strangely calm. She did notice her almost-breakdown tone when she knew about Naruto, however she instantly continue asking about the situation, hiding her worries, yet Shizune saw her worries, it was written in her face. _'Such a strong girl, like her master'_

The pink-haired medic looked at the patient, the symptoms matched, fatal injuries, high fever, and low heart rate, and soon it will get worse.

* * *

At the Hokage office, Tsunade was tapping her fingers at the scroll while her eyes focused on the scribbles that were inked on the paper in front of her.

"Call Kakashi, Sakura, Sai and Sasuke to come here immediately" the female blonde commanded, not looking at her assistant,

"Hai!" the raven-haired assistant responded.

When all of team seven was at the fifth's office, Tsunade took a deep breath

"We sent a medical ninja team to bring the medicine for the Chakra disease four days ago and no response came from them" the slug princess stated,

"Your mission is to know what have happened to the team we sent and deliver the medicine immediately to Konoha, You have two hours to get ready for your departure" she commanded.

She handed the scroll to silver-haired jounin.

"You may leave" she ordered.

They all responded with "Hai"

* * *

Sakura knew, she was medic; this was the worst disease that a ninja can get. It ends a shinobi's life. If a shinobi were to not have a fully control of their chakra system or chakra control and used high seals persistently, the chances of them getting the disease is 45% yet most patients get infected by it from other diseased shinobi.

First the patient will have a slight fever followed by a high one that leads to little unnoticeable burns in various which is the end of the early stages. Then their chakra system will be infected, as in starts to exert chakra through body heat, at this point, the patient can no longer move, with every slight move the amount of pain is unbearable, and the chakra that is being exerted can give away this disease to any person that is near the patient.

Sakura's steps were moving faster, her fists are tightened, she had to check on him, she knows that they won't let her in, but she is breaking in anyway.

At first she was going inside the room to see him, but she decide to look at him through the glass, and there he was, laying in bed, she could see his lips were moving, as if was mumbling or talking to himself, she smiled softly at this image, she wanted to go inside and hug and tell him that everything will be alright, like he always told her, but she couldn't, not with the medicine not in her hands, not when this gruesome disease is haunting Konoha. He wouldn't forgive her if something were to happen for the village, heck she would forgive herself!

She turned to the opposite direction and left the hospital, and straight to her apartment, getting ready for the mission.

* * *

_**(edited 5.12.2014)**_


	3. Determination

_A/N: I have decided to make the story longer (more than two chapters) but I promise to update__ weekly__. Believe it!_

_i was really hesitant in uploading this chapter, tell me if you understand anything. (i think this is the third time, am re-uploading it)_

**_Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine, it belongs to Kishi._**

* * *

Two weeks and a half have passed, and he haven't returned, which was fine because he was sending reports back to Konoha and not fine because she was missing him. And the more she misses him the more she was sure of her feelings for him.

in the last report, it as mentioned that Naruto and some of Suna's ninja's fought those bandits, and were able to locate their hideout, '_that is why he will be late_ they' they fought, Naruto and the Suna's shinobi, missing-nins, they put up a good fight but they were able to defeat them, the hideout contained stolen weapons, supplies, classified scrolls from several hidden villages. Suna's shinobi took it from there, and naruto's mission was complete and he was heading back to Konoha.

once the mission was successfully done, Naruto stayed at Suna for barely a day, slept off all the weariness from this mission and he bid farewell to the Kazekage, even though the red-headed insisted that Naruto should rest but the whiskered blonde needed to head back to the village, he missed Konoha, he felt as he left something important there, even though it was his idea to take his mind off things, yet he missed _her_. He needed to meet her. He made a mental note to write his report immediately and meet her.

Sakura estimated that Naruto would be back by tomorrow morning the latest if not tonight. She missed him and that was fact, but she was nervous that her heart started that drum beating whenever she thought about telling him her feelings. This time her reasoning will not be a lie.

She was going over the report he had sent for the 7th time; just to make sure she didn't miss anything.

She hoped she would see him this morning, or her worries will start building up.

She went to the hospital and started on checking patients, paper work etc. the usual routine, since most of the nurses were busy with the ER. One of the nurses barged in to her office, breathing heavily trying to catch her breath, her hands on her knees, "Sa-Sakura-san! Shizune-san wants ASAP!" Sakura's expression grew serious.

The medic charged off to the ER. She knew Shizune wouldn't ask her to the ER if it weren't a serious fatal case. But the nurse stopped her, telling her to go the section C.

'_Section C?"_

Before she could even step into the room, Sakura knew the required attire to access this section, an all full-body white suit and a cap that covered her head only showing her face. She knew that the room had a patient with a fast-spreading disease.

She stepped in to see Shizune was wearing the same thing as her. She took steps closer to the person who was lying in bed; he was surely not from Konoha.

"Sakura" Shizune called her, handing her the report for the patient. She instantly took at the file, as she read the symptoms she was wishing in the back of her mind that it wasn't what she thought, but it was.

Sakura took a look at the report and glanced back at Shizune "How many?"

"Two nurses and " her voice cracked.

"And?" looking at Shizune.

"Naruto"

in shock, she was, the name echoed in the back of her mind, checking if there was any Naruto she knows other than the Naruto she knows, and no, she only knows one Naruto and its _him_. Her body froze, processing what she has heard.

The silence covered the room, like the mist covering a battlefield.

"Ar-are you telling me that Naruto is in the confinement too?!" she tried her best not to shout. But she was.

"He was the one to find him, he came rushing into the ER, begging us to help him and we did, until we saw his symptoms, we had to take precautions" she explained.

"Sakura, he will be fine, his body didn't show anything" she added.

"And the two nurses?" she asked

"The same, but they should be isolated for a two weeks to make sure they don't carry the disease"

"I know," she muttered under her breath.

"But what about him?" she inquired.

"We sent a team to fetch the medicine from the Waterfall Village, they should be back in five days max" Shizune responded, yet she was worried, Sakura was strangely calm. She did notice her almost-breakdown tone when she knew about Naruto, however she instantly continue asking about the situation, hiding her worries, yet Shizune saw her worries, it was written in her face. _'such a strong girl, like her master' _

The pink-haired medic looked at the patient, the symptoms matched, fatal injuries, high fever, and low heart rate. And soon it will get worse.

* * *

At the Hokage office, Tsunade was tapping her fingers at the scroll while her eyes focused on the scribbles that were inked on the paper in front of her.

"Call Kakashi, Sakura, Sai and Sasuke to come here immediately" the female blonde commanded, not looking at her assistant,

"Hai!" the raven-haired assistant responded.

When all of team seven (excluding the whiskered blonde) were at the fifth's office, Tsunade took a deep breath

"We sent a medical ninja team to bring the medicine for the Chakra disease four days ago and no response came from them" the slug princess stated,

"Your mission is to know what have happened to the team we sent and deliver the medicine immediately to Konoha" she added

"You have two hours to get ready for your departure"

She handed the scroll to silver-haired jounin.

"You may leave" she ordered.

They all responded with "Hai"

* * *

Sakura knew, she was medic; this was the worst disease that a ninja can get. It ends a shinobi's life. If a shinobi were to not have a fully control of their chakra system or chakra control and used high seals persistently, the chances of them getting the disease is 45% yet most patients get infected by it from other diseased shinobi

First the patient will have a slight fever followed by a high one that leads to little unnoticeable burns in various which is the end of the early stages. Then their chakra system will be infected, as in starts to exert chakra through body heat, at this point, the patient can no longer move, with every slight move the amount of pain is unbearable. And the chakra that is being exerted can give away this disease to any person that is net to it, depending on that person's chakra mode.

Sakura's steps were moving faster, her fists are tightened, she had to check on him, but they wont let her, but she is breaking in anyway.

At first she was going inside the room to see him, but she decide to look at him through the glass, and there he was, laying in bed, she could see his lips were moving, as if was mumbling or talking to himself, she smiled softly at this image, she wanted to go inside and hug and tell him that everything will be alright, like he always told her, but she couldn't, not with the medicine not in her hands, not when this gruesome disease is haunting Konoha. He wouldn't forgive her if something were to happen for the village, heck she would forgive herself!

She turned to the opposite direction and left the hospital, and straight to her apartment, getting ready for the mission.


	4. The Cure

**hey guys am so sorry for not posting weekly, i had finals and now am done, summer vaca yay. (not excited)**

**-but I will update very soon cause I'm almost finished with chapter 5. Also am so sorry for this short chapter, and I'm not good with action/fighting scenes, so excuse my writing.**

**-please review cause that will make my summer way better. you guys give me the energy to write more.**

* * *

It is not the first time for Sasuke, Sakura and Sai to be in a mission together. But it was heck awkward at the beginning, and by beginning I mean when Sasuke got back, well, obviously the Council had to let him do community work, for year, he was restricted to D-rank missions for another year, he was allowed to use a limited amount of chakra during those two years. Not to mention it was a good quality time for team seven to come together including Sai.

They went on missions together, mostly A or B ranked missions, not the whole team, sometimes it would be Sasuke and Sai, or Sasuke and Sakura or Naruto and Sasuke, it would be a lie to say it didn't feel awkward, because they grew up through these years, so working together was a bit intense and they needed to know how to fight and to establish teamwork during this missions.

As they were marching ahead, on their way to the Waterfall country, Sakura's was thinking about the team that was sent four days ago, did they got attacked? They were definitely attacked, but by who? Did someone know about Konoha's need for this medicine? But how would they know? The team that they sent could have been sent for anything, not just to get the medicine.

Previously at the gates, Sakura, Sai and Sasuke were informed that Kakashi was sent into another mission, a S-class mission, it didn't surprise them, and they were strong enough. And so the trio started their way to the Waterfall village.

* * *

Mean while, Shizune was at the hospital, looking at the window that separated her from Naruto's room, she could see from the machine next to her that the temperature of the room is increasing, steadily, which worried her, she sent one of the nurses to inform Tsunade.

The worst-case scenario was happening. If the room temp is getting higher by the minute it could only means that the Naruto had caught the chakra virus, and it would drain all his chakra, and he is not any normal ninja, he is a jinchuriki, they had no idea if the kyuubi chakra was infected, or was vulnerable for infection.

It didn't take long for Tsunade to rush into the room, she looked at the machine and it was true. She looked at the glass window, Naruto was lying in bed, sleeping, she could see his chest rise and fall. She chewed her lips, her eyebrows furrowed and her worries were becoming true.

Shizune looked at her Tsunade and she knew from her expression, this was only the beginning of this damn disease.

* * *

It took the trio a day and a half to reach the Waterfall Village.

When they were only few miles to the Waterfall village, she could sense them, and Sasuke and Sai must have too. But they were kind of far away at the moment, although she could sense their chakra moving faster towards them, exponentially.

They fast in an unnatural way, before she could look behind her, she could feel a kunai on her neck '_when did they.._'

She held the hand that was putting the kunai on her neck, he pressed further for the kunai touch her neck, a slight cut through her skin but before he could do anything, she pumped chakra into her hands and twisted his hands free of the kunai, got hold of the ninja's arm and jerked him to the ground.

Another two ninjas charged in her direction, she ran ahead dodging the rain of kunai that they sent, she kicked the ninja on her left with her right leg sending him all the way for his back to hit a tree. The one on her right started moving his hands in a fast pace but before he could finish she hit him in the face with her foot, '_a broken jaw_', she predicted.

On an impulse and grabbed the other ninja that was behind her and threw him over her back and threw him on the ground on his back with all her power, she knew he was dead, because that left a big hole in the ground, she sensed another ninja but his hand seals were fast and walls emerged from the earth trapping her, when he knew that she was inside punched the walls so they had collapse over her, but he didn't hear any sound of pain, he checked his surrounding and noticed a shadow ascending on him _'when did she use kage bunshi?'_, she hit him with her leg on his shoulder, creating another big hole, surprisingly he was still holding up, his left hand holding his injured shoulder, he crouched on the ground and picked a explosive kunai and he threw it at her, Sakura almost laughed at him but she noticed the flying kunai was (repeated) into hundreds, she made a seal to deactivate the explosive tags and so she can dodge it freely. She ran and pointed the kunai at his neck giving him her deadly look "who sent you" she hissed.

The anger was filling her eyes, the ninja grinned,

She tightened her grip that was holding his collar. "I won't repeat myself again" she gritted her teeth "who fucking sent you"

"I have no idea what are you talking about" he answered weakly, blood dripping from his mouth

She loosed her grip from him and brought her arm back and fisted her hand and punched him in the gut

He growled as his mouth splattered blood.

"We were assigned to kill any ninjas" he coughed even harder, his eyes are hardly open "from Konoha, that are coming to the waterfall"

"Why is that? And who assigned you?!" She was shouting now

His eyes rolled back and closed. She saw his hands moving. He's making seals

Sakura backed off as soon as possible.

An explosion erupted; she jumped as fast as she could possibly can.

Mean while, Sasuke and Sai were fighting the other ninjas, Sasuke noticed Sakura wasn't with them, Sai was fighting another ninja not too far away from him, but Sakura's chakra was faint, but the fact it was there eased him.

There was 12 ninjas in front of him, he smirked at the thought of beating them up like flies, sharingan wasn't even needed, he used the lightening technique he head at them with his sword charged with lightning, his speed was indulging when he saw the ninjas falling one by one.

That gave enough time for the tough enemy to prepare his fight against Sasuke, apparently Sasuke was on the Bingo Book and his bounty was exceeded 3 million.

Multiple of chakra-loaded shuriken were thrown in the raven-haired shinobi's way, he dodged them and charged to his opponent collecting enough lighting in his right hand, the ninja jumped avoiding his hand, but Sasuke used his sword and pierced the lightning sword in his left shoulder, but the ninja went in a puff of smoke. And he sensed coming from behind him. The enemy had an axe and was already aiming at Sasuke and it was too late for Sasuke to even lift his head, Sasuke went into another puff of smoke

The enemy curses under his breath. He moved his eyes to the left, right, down, up, he turned to see behind him, but as soon as he did, he felt an electrifying pain in his stomach, the enemy lifted his hand in seals but Sasuke dug his sword into his enemy's body preventing him from exploding himself, for he had noticed the tags on his back, when he activated his sharingan after killing the first ninjas.

He heard an explosion coming from the direction he was sending Sakura's chakra, he charged to the way as fast as he could.

He knew Naruto would never forgive him if something happened to her.

* * *

**FLASHBACK**

_Naruto and Sasuke lay on the beating grass, sun was setting._

_"I was easy on you" Sasuke said_

_"Stop making excuses, I kicked your ass and I won" Naruto said triumphantly with a big grin on his face._

_"Well, Seems like you have improved your taijutsu through the years Naruto" Sasuke said clarifying the fact that he decided to strength his taijutsu, which was the reason he didn't use sharingan in his spar with Naruto._

_"All thanks to bushy brows. Sparring with him in those past years made it worthwhile. You should spar with him, he has gotten stronger, I don't think you're in his level though" he laughed_

"_hn" he rolled his eyes._

"_Don't get all cocky because I let you win this round" the raven-haired boy added_

"_LET ME WIN?" the blonde was laughing even harder_

"_I hear a challenge, I don't kicking your ass" said the Uchiha shinobi._

"_I'm inviting Kiba and Bushy eyebrows tomorrow at the training grounds" Naruto smiled_

"_hn" he smirked._

_Naruto took that as a sign of agreement._

_They lay on the ground, after a long silence that fell upon them_

_"Did you talk to her" Naruto broke the silence._

_"Her?" Sasuke raised a brow._

_"You know what am taking about, Sakura. Did you talk to her?"_

_"Why don't you ask her?"_

_"She's on a mission"_

_"She isn't coming be back till next week" he added_

_"Naruto, Sakura is only my teammate, nothing more nothing less" Sasuke declared. And stared back at the sky_

_Naruto glanced at him, studying his face, but he only saw the same Sasuke face that Sasuke made_

_"Good, because I'm marrying her" the blonde declared back._

* * *

Sasuke saw huge carters on the ground, and a burned body; it was the enemy's body.

He scanned the area for her; he saw a body sitting on the ground a few feet away from the crater. He moved there instantly. he saw her healing herself. He went to her, Sakura heard his footsteps coming to her.

"Where's Sai?" she asked, not looking at him,

"He's still fighting the ninja. I will have to warn him about the tags that are attached to their bodies" the Uchiha said.

"How many are left? I can't sense anyone around here," Sakura inquired.

She could sense Sai but she can't sense anyone else. Did Sasuke defeat them?

"Are you alright?" He asked

She lifted herself up, "I'm fine, we need to find Sai," she stated.

She was in good shape, she healed herself from the damage she got from explosion, but no that much, she needed chakra to heal her both teammates later.

"Are you alright Sasuke?" she looked at him, checking for wounds, there was none, she sighed in relief.

"I'm good, lets go" he started walking

She got up and followed him.

They both moved to where Sai was fighting one of the enemies, but as soon as they arrived, One of Sai's inked summoning, a snake holding a jar filled with water and stone, a sea blue stone inside it, floating.

They saw Sai taking the jar from the snake. The inked snake returned into the scroll and the snake went inside the scroll as if it never was alive to begin with.

"Is this-" The pinked hair asked

"The cure? It is" the pale ninja interrupted while securing the jar with a cloth.

"It with the ninjas we fought, they got hold of it by defeating the previous team that was sent here in the last four days"

"This cure had the signature of Konoha village on it" he added

He lifted the jar for both his teammate to see

Sakura leaned close "yeah that's true, but that means that the previous team wa-"

"Was about to bring back the cure to the village but they were stopped by those ninjas" Sai interrupted her again.

"Where's the team then? They can't be dead." Sakura said in a low voice

"I don't know Sakura-san" Sai had this expression on his face; it was calm, strangely calm.

"We should go to the village and ask them, maybe they know" Sakura suggested

"We don't have time for that Sakura." Sasuke looked at her, she knew that look, that look he always had whenever he and Naruto would start arguing non-stop.

"Then Sai, Sasuke take the medicine back to the Konoha and I will check the village" she insisted.

"No, Sakura you take the medicine back, you lost most of your chakra from the damage of the explosion" Sasuke commanded.

"'No I'm fine Sasuke, more importantly we need to check on the team" she dictated.

She never argued with Sasuke in missions, Naruto would do all the arguing and they would make a decision and go with it, but this time it was different she needed to check on the other team, as much as she wanted to go back and heal Naruto, she needed to check on the previous team, if Naruto were in her place he would do the same, he would never leave anyone behind.

"I will go and check on the team, Sakura you need to bring the medicine to Konoha, for Naruto" Sai was on Sasuke's side,

'_are they insane? Do they think she is __**that **__weak?'_

"Sasuke, Sai, I can handle myself and you know the team cannot go around without a medic, I'm going to check on the other team and Sai you take the medicine back, leave on of your inked summoning with us so we can stay in touch" she said it with a determine look in her face, she wasn't going to be treated as the weakest one here, things changed she is not the fragile one anymore.

"Alright then" Sai agreed.

He summoned the little mice, two of them hopped on both Sakura and Sasuke's shoulders

They went part ways.

* * *

_**(edited 5.12.2014)**_


	5. Home

**A/N: THE LAST UPDATE WAS JUNE 21st? I am very shocked AND angry (at myself)I haven't updates for almost two months**

**I would like to thank Lindt company for without their chocolate I would've never finished this chapter.**

**(i need to settle on pen name)**

**Disclaimer: if naruto was mine, OBITO WOULD BE THE HOKAGE. (and not kakashi, not that I hate kakashi(I love kakashi), its just I love obito more) but its kishi's.**

* * *

The sky was turning into shades of pumpkin orange and glint of pink, indicating that the sun will set in an hour or two, Sasuke and Sakura decide to split up, Sakura took the route to the village while Sasuke decided to search for the team in the nearby forest.

The pink haired kinoichi asked around but no one seemed to have a clue, as if they were trying to avoid her, she decided to go to a bar, since they are the most places with more information. On her way she heard someone calling her, she turned around to see a little boy, maybe 8 or 7 years old, with zaffre eyes and blackish hair that was almost hidden in russet hat.

"Yes?" she answered.

The boy stopped and panted heavily, trying to catch his breathe.

"The o-old man… is saying you should look by the lake" he pointed to his right. She turned her head towards where his index finger pointed, there was a little bridge leading to the other side of the lake.

"Oh, who told you that" she turned to see him but the boy ran yelling something she didn't understand.

'_Well, we have a clue'_ she said to herself, the boy might be lying to her, and there might be another group of bandits there waiting for her, but that didn't scare her off or anything, she was tired of looking around and if going there was the only hint to find the missing team the be it.

She walked all the way to the other side of the lake, the bridge was made of a carnelian colored wood that reminded her of that bridge at home where they, team seven, waited for their sensei to arrive. She noticed how her face morphed from tense to relaxing expression, she missed their little adventures, she shook her head and switched to mission-mood, she wanted to wrap this mission asap, she needed to see him.

The pinked haired nin studied her surroundings, large tall trees, lots of them, birds chirping and she could almost make a sound of water? There was a waterfall not far away from here. She decided to follow her instincts and follow the sound of it, where was water here was life and the chances of finding the lost team near a water source were definitely higher.

As she was close to her destination, she noticed a small cottage few meters away, she walked towards it, hiding her chakra signature and her hands holding a kunai, she could sneak in, but the cottage seemed like a normal cottage and didn't indicate any signs of enemies or anything of that kind, so she decided to knock,

An old man in his forties answered, he had a soft white beard and wrinkled face, specially around the eyes, he was smiling at her, "hello there, do you want some help?" his voice was husky and full of kindness

"Yes, I am looking for Konoha ninja's did you see any of them?" she asked and explained to the old man about the lost team, he nodded, he motioned with his hands, asking her to come in, she stepped in,

"Are referring to those injured shinobi?" he inquired.

She walked in, the small cottage was warm, and there was a small fire place and on her left was a big desk and next to it was a huge bookcase filled with books that varied from thick ones to thin, and scattered papers here and there that hanged between the shelves, she looked to her left where laid there two men, she recognized they were from Konoha due the Konoha headband, they were covered with blankets, and next to them was some medical equipment that she immediately recognized. She walked to them and then lifted her head over her shoulder to the old man "did you heal them?" she asked.

"Ah yes, I found two of them in the forest, they were severely injured and the other two were looking for help, lucky for them I didn't skip my daily morning walks" the old man had a smile on his face that deepened his wrinkles around the eyes but then his expression went stern and his eyes were filled with worry "one of them hasn't woken up yet, I fear he is in a coma, I took care of the other's wounds but they've lost some blood, they can survive but they need blood transfer as soon as possible"

She was listening to the old man and examining the team's condition and he was absolutely right, but that wasn't the only thing that stunned her, the wounds were perfectly taken care of, with so little material.

"Jiro Tatsou, but call me Jiro" he said

"Sakura, Haruno Sakura" she introduced herself.

"if you are asking about the other two shinobi, they went to collect some herbs and wood, I told them to rest but the insisted on helping"

"Oh okay, do you know when they're coming back?"

"Probably in less than an hour" he answered.

She thanked him, and went outside, she took a paper from her pouch and scribbled something and asked Sai's inked summoning to deliver it to Sasuke as soon as possible. In the paper, she told her raven-haired teammate where she was and that she successfully found the team, she then returned inside.

She asked Jiro-san for more details about his medical jutsu, and surprisingly he told her that he did not use any, he relied on mostly herbs, and used simple old camping ways to heal those wounds, and he told her that he was once a doctor but he resigned. She guessed his knowledge came from the books he stored in his cramped bookcase.

He then offered her a cup of warm milk, she accepted it, he told her that he always healed and cured people without price, that it was his duty to do so, she saw a glimpse of sorrow and regret in his little grey-bluish eyes that was framed with layers of winkled skin. it was silence for a while,

She decided to break the eerie silence, she asked him about how he perfectly patched the third level injuries, she expected he would answer right away or would give her an advice or something, but he walked to his cramped bookcase and pulled a thick dusty red book and walked back to the spot where he sat previously, he gently wiped some dust from the book and handed it to her, she took the it and looked at him, he nodded, telling her it was okay to open it. The medic nin looked at the book in her hands, it was heavy and the edged of the front cover lost it red color, there was a little dust in the corner that bothered her, so she dusted them away with her fingers.

She read the title '_Medical History in Healing Fatal Damages_' she opened the book, but before she her eyes could make a word, a picture fell from it and landed on the ground. She leaned and took it, it was a picture of a couple, the photo was in black and white with some letterings on the side, she looked back at Jiro-san to see him gazing at the fire. She apologized and placed the picture back in the book. He told her that she did not need to apologies.

Another wave of silence fell, and then she heard him say that something, she didn't quite make out then he started to talk about the book, he told her that this book talks about methods that medics used to treat injuries that were fatal, but those methods were then abandoned due the arrival of technologies and chemicals that were created using medical ninjutsu, the book mostly talked about the history of treatments, potions, plants and herbs yet it contained useful information. She was hesitated to open the book, it had a picture of Jiro-san and someone he cherished, she thought.

He told her about the picture, that it was his wife that was in it, he said that she was the reason that he became a doctor and she was the reason he stopped.

"It was too late" she heard the elder medic say between his words, that he didn't have enough knowledge; she saw that he blamed himself for his wife's loss.

She couldn't tell him that he shouldn't shoulder all the blame, because she was in the same state too. If she lost Naruto the amount of guilt would me suffocating.

She stopped herself from digging further in predicting in such thoughts. losing him, that was the one thought she did not want to let her mind last a second thinking about. It was a forbidden part in her mind and heart that she did not dare to walk in. she knew that that kind of thinking would destroy her to the point that recovering was not an option.

She shook her head lightly, bringing herself to reality, she noticed her heart was throbbing against her ribcage, not only that, she was all worried and her mind was still telling her _ifs_.

'_The medicine should reach him by now_' she went back to her thoughts, and he was the container of the Kyuubi, which means the Kyuubi chakra will heal him, she shouldn't be all apprehensive.

But this sickness is complex, it detects chakra points and chances of survival are not always high, in early stages it can be cured but in most cases people wouldn't get their hands on the medicine in the right time. And what if the Kyuubi were to be infected?

She lightly shook her head again and noticed that Jiro-san went to check on the patients.

She scolded herself, how can she be deep in doubts and worst-case scenarios that have the lowest chance in happening. She went and helped the elder and thanked him again.

"I know that it is probably not of my business, but did you ever thought that she might've wanted you to continue your career?"

After a bout of time he softly, she barely heard it "I couldn't risk it, losing another person"

It was true, she did feel like that, she did lose patients, she hated it, her thoughts drift back to when she failed to save a genin, her first case of death, his team immediately brought him to the hospital and they thought they had time, he was in a fatal sate, it was a six hour surgery, the young boy's heart failed to beat, her white coat was splashed with blood, her breathe was heavy, her hands clutched in a knot and started to press a push to his heart with her fist, till the machine charged, no response, she immediately then sent a electric wave to his chest, one time, two times, three times, she did a fourth one she knew after the third time that that was _it_, she charged the machine again, she shouldn't give up, she felt a hand on her shoulder, telling her that she should stop, she shouldn't give up. "_If the heart is still beating that means the patient can still survive_" that was the rule wasn't it? But this situation and this saying was not… a group of nurses went to takeover and Shizune dragged her outside the OR (_Operation Room_).

She rested her back to the wall, she slowly sat while she started to sob, her knees were to her chest he elbow rested on them, she used her arms to cover her sobs and tears, _she was a failure._

back in the present, she felt a sting in her eyes, oh she was not gonna start crying, she squeezed her eyes and opened them again, took a deep breath, she felt the cold air refreshing her lungs, her emotions were stable.

"One thing my master told me is that, our job is not only to save people but we have to take responsibility till the end" she muttered while her mind did a little flashback.

Hospitals were a place of life and death, one should be ready to such occurrences, but no one ever was. A medic will need guidance and comfort and determination.

She decided she was gonna tell them, the other teammates, about their loss, that he didn't make it. a deep breath restored her conscious mind, her eyes were stinging red, she pressed her cold palms against her eyelids, looked at her reflection from the mirror, her eyes weren't that red as she thought they would be. The fifth Hokage's apprentice used her monotone when telling them, and the moment she finished her voice was gone, she felt hot tears streaming down her cheeks, she realized the droplets got out in the middle of her telling them, she brought a hand to forehead and then traced them down to her eyes wiping her tears away, she apologized and left. She informed the nurse to get the papers ready.

That night she was the closest to ever been with Naruto, she was planning on returning home and sleep her headache off, but who was she kidding? Oh how she needed a cup of coffee, but that will make her wide awake with all the surgery flashbacks, her steps were getting heavier her body became heavier, the apartment was only two blocks away. The moment she reached her home she saw him there, standing, arms folded, she didn't see his eyes, they were covered with his gold-ish bangs.

She felt a stabbing pain in her heart, tears were back as if the crying in the hospital never happened, she wanted to tell him what happened, that it wasn't her fault, that she tried her best, she tried to say his name but it came into whispers that she didn't hear it herself, her vision was clouded with tears but before any tears could make their way down her cheeks, his arms encircled around her limp body, her head rested on his shoulder, the tears landed on his shirt.

He felt her body shaking, her sobs and hiccups harden and her murmuring that he didn't make out, he tighten his embrace whispering, "Its okay", "its fine" and "you did your best".

He knew about it all, Shizune told him, he didn't find her at the hospital, so he knew she was on her way to her apartment, when he reached there, he saw her, she was pale, puffy eyes and chapped lips, and on an impulse he immediately hugged her, he couldn't stand how broken she was. He wanted his flower back into petal pieces.

"It seems like your master taught you well" too deep in thought, she didn't see him smiling softly again.

* * *

Later that day, Sasuke came before sunset, informed he that another team was going to take it from here; they were needed back in the village.

They didn't wait that long till another team arrived. She and Sasuke took the shortest route to Konoha.

* * *

_**(edited 6.12.2014 :')**_

(1)"_The saying where a medic has to take responsibility till the end_" was from a medical Kdrama called "Golden Time" I watched two years ago.

(2)_ Jiro's story_: my sister told me not to include it because its sad and useless. But I didn't listen. (this story is inspired by that old man in hxh in greed island arc, who wanted the card to bring his wife back to life but then it was too late and stuff, it was really sad)

**(3)This story will end before September**, because I wanna start a new narusaku story. (Which I already started to write)

(4) Is anyone here a kagakuro shipper (kuroko no basket)?


	6. Her Answer

**Disclaimer: Naruto was never mine. That's why fanfiction exists.**

**Next chapter is the last chapter (i enjoyed writing this story \\*^*/) !**

* * *

It was probably the worst days of Uzumaki Naruto's life. He had saved a man's life, or he thought he did, because the moment he stepped into the hospital, Shizune was there, and just after few minutes of his arrival, they told him he needed to be examined, he didn't mind at first, but when Baa-chan came in and told him to stay in the hospital for a week, when he was perfectly fine, he decided to make a run for it, yet the blonde lady never failed to surprise him with her strength, he was pulled into the nearest empty bed and injected with some kind of drug that had a soporific effect.

He found himself in a room, lying in a bed, white sheets, the light was vivid, the blonde groaned, he wished he acquiesced to her orders, but since when did he? his vision started to drift off, his breathing was heavy, as if he ran 100 laps around the village and lost all his energy, he was sweating, his noticed the trickle of sweat that was on his temples, all he could see was the ceiling was shaking he hardly notice himself slipping into unconsciousness.

He didn't know how many hours or even days he was at the hospital but the moment he woke up, he saw himself in the hospital gown, IV attached to his vein, he felt a cold breeze brush off his hair, he noticed someone has opened the window, the sun rays were bright and warm, it was probably between 9 or 10 am.

He then detected the Hokage stepping into the room; he turned his head from the window to see her.

She knew this expression, oh he had millions of question to ask and before he could say anything, she looked the report that was on her hand.

"How are you feeling?" she asked him,

"I'm good, but what happened, how long was I at the hospital and did something happened?!" he tried to sound as calm as he can, but his voice betrayed him.

She raised a brow, she had just discharged the two nurses that caught the disease since they were completely healed, and now it was his turn.

She would lie if she hadn't been worried sick, he was definitely the most unpredictable ninja in Konoha. But with the medicine in their hands, they saved him. What concerned her is that they when the medicine was a day late, the Kyuubi's chakra was reacting and covering his entire body, the moment that damn bug deprived that knucklehead's body from his blue chakra, he didn't transform, he was just surrounded with orange aura sure Yamato was there to stable the nine tails chakra, yet it was strange as if the Kyuubi was protecting him. Even though the test showed that he was completely fine, she felt she needed to do a bit of research about this unusual case.

"A week, and the guy you saved suffered from a dangerous disease that you caught, but we cured you immediately thanks to the team that brought the medicine at the perfect time" she said while flipping the papers.

"What about him?" he asked, his tone was shaky.

"I'm sorry to tell you this, but he didn't make it. He was at the late stages of the disease" she answered him trying to say it in medical professional tone.

Naruto lowered his head, clenched his fists, feeling useless, he did try to save him but he failed.

"It is not your fault that, he didn't make it"

"You can't save everyone" she added

After few seconds she added, "You will be discharged today, the nurse will arrive with your clothes and belongings" she walked to the door, gave a last glance at the whiskered blonde and sighed.

Naruto was lost in thought, _'you can't save everyone' Tsunade's_ voice still echoed in his head.

The nurse came to hand him his clothes, he asked her about Sakura's whereabouts, she told that she was on a mission; even with everything bring awkward between them, he wished she was here with him.

* * *

"Ahhhh!" Naruto exclaimed happily, he was finally out of the damn hospital and his first stop was Ichiraku!

On his way he realized he had no money, so he immediately took a beeline to his apartment, when he arrived, he saw the most peculiar sight, he occasionally saw a flower or two in front his apartment, but this time, it was TONS of flowers of all kinds, roses and teddy bears. He tried to move them aside to open his door to his apartment, he stepped in, turned on the light, his eyes fell on the instant ramen cups and so he made a decision

Instant ramen it is! _Reasons?_ First he needed to feed his hungry stomach and instant ramen was the closest thing to him at the moment.

He sniffed his shirt, he smelled like crap, the blonde took a quick shower and changed into a t-shirt and pants and boiled some water, and got his chop sticks ready and set everything at the table, and when he started pouring hot water into the ramen cup, waited a minute, and opened the lid, the smell was heavenly, he finished it in a instant. He was about to prepare another cup, when he heard a knock on his door.

* * *

_Earlier today._

The moment Sakura's eyes detected the gates she ran faster her façade had indomitable look that the raven haired boy noticed, he sighed and went along with her speed, they stepped into the gates, Sakura greeted the guards. She decided to do the briefing and Sasuke to write the report, his reply was a "hn" which translated as 'troublesome' but he didn't mind, he knew that she was thinking of that idiot, it was written all over her face.

At the Hokage tower, and just when she was about to raise her arm to know the knock the door

"Come in, Sakura" she heard her master call her.

She walked in, did the briefing; about the bandits they fought and she updated her master about the condition of the previous team. She just wanted to go straight to hospital to see him, but she had to ask her master

"Did it work?" she inquired

"If it didn't, you wouldn't see me here" she said in a serious tone yet that didn't cover the little smirk that the blonde had while she was signing some papers.

"Thank you" she bowed, her hands were behind her back, and her face was brightened, she didn't doubt her master's skills, she knew that the medicine would arrive, she knew that her master would save him along with the other patient who caught the disease, but worries ate her alive back then. Sakura turned and closed the door.

* * *

She went straight to her apartment, she was in need to take a warm shower, she smelled like mud and sweat, not to mention the back of her hair was tangled. As much as she wanted to take her time at the shower, she couldn't, her mind was somewhere else, no her _heart_ was somewhere else.

That thought of that loud blonde whiskered friend made her stomach flip, or should she say, more than a _friend._

She was working the shampoo in her bubble gum colored hair when she realized.

Wait, her _boyfriend._

At moment this word echoed in the back of her head, _her boyfriend. _Him, her blue eyed teammate, part of her mind was actually excited! And the other one was downright anxious, which cause a light throbbing pain in her head. She got out of the shower, blow-dried her damp pink hair and wore a crimson light sweater and a skirt that reached her mid-thighs.

Wearing her usual navy ninja shoes and before she took off, but, gave a quick looked at herself in the mirror; her face was pale, like a white board! Make up was needed. Since today is an extremely important. She should look her best.

She went back to her room and added a little bit of mascara, she made a mental note to thank Ino for her endless makeup lessons, and applied a small amount of lipstick, and off she was.

First stop, the hospital, her speed was increasing by the second, by the time she arrived there she was panting. she tapped the nurse office and asked about him. Her fears and anxieties were increasing by the minute, as she waiting for the nurses to give her an answer!

"He just left" one of the nurses finally spoken though it only took them a very short amount of time, but to Sakura it was like waiting for your order in family restaurant on Fridays.

'_Wait what? He left when?! Wasn't he supposed to be here, recovering! That was serious illness!_' not that she wanted him back in the hospital, she just couldn't wait any longer, she wanted to tell him her _answer._

"When did he leave?" she said calmly, or hoped her voice sound calm.

"half an hour ago..." she answered quickly, when she saw Sakura's perplexed expression.

She thanked the nurses and headed to her next destination was Ichiraku's, to her surprise the stool was empty, she figured he might be at the training grounds but after a second thought '_he couldn't go through any training, he just got discharged_' she doubt he would go there.

Finally her last stop was his apartment.

With slow paces she reached his apartment, gathering all her courage, she was going to tell him.

Her confidence 95%, which is good, even better, and those 5% are just nervousness and doubts that are really just 5%. The closer she was to his apartment the more she was losing all the courage.

Her heart slammed furiously against her chest, her headache was back associated poking in her stomach that must be that butterfly feeling that was in every romantic novel she ever read. _"So much for butterflies, it's as of someone is poking your stomach with matchsticks," _she thought.

And finally she reached his doorway.

Her eyes fell on the gifts, roses, chocolates and stuffed animals, cards and baskets that were in front of his apartment door.

She fucking forgot, the hero had a lot of fans, _female_ fans to be precise, they appeared ever since the Pein's attack and they increased after the war. Which was flattering on his side, he did mentions couple of times that he was stalked he received gifts from now and then, she should have seen that coming, since the blonde was hospitalized for a week or so. She didn't really care about those fan girls, until **now**.

Even though he confessed to her, she still felt something, jealousy. Well of course she would be jealous, he is her boyfriend, not yet, but he will be, and those fan girls better back off.

But then something else was formed in her mind, that maybe, just maybe she wasn't enough for him. That made the little 5% jump to 50%.

She did falsely confessed to him... But that was only to protect him.

And she did treat him like crap back in the academy… but she was only, she only hit him if he was an idiot, and he was! Most of the time.

She sighed.

And she did asked for him to bring Sasuke back, which he made a promise of it, a promise of a lifetime…

A knot was formed in her throat,

They brought him back, now didn't they?

But that did not stop her from blaming herself; she was a burden to him.

Oh now that 50% became 100%.

She fought the urge to cry.

Ino's words suddenly popped in her mind.

'_That's for him to decide, not you_'

Maybe she's right, maybe that's for him to decide. But what if his decision was wrong, she's not the best cook and not the prettiest, she was his close friend but she was mean to him back then.

She needed to get rid of all the negative thoughts that encircled her mind; she was in front of his door for heaven's sake! She should do what she had planned to do. No turning back now.

She stood in front of his door and knocked. '_Too late to back now_' inner Sakura appeared out of nowhere grinned. She ignored her inner self.

She heard footsteps and she knew that that was _it_. She heard his foot steps and the door was open, he stood there with black t-shirt that has an Uzumaki sign on it and black pants with two orange strips on the sides, she smelled scent of ramen and noticed how his hair was messy and

"Sakura-chan, Hi!" his face lit up with his usual grin

"Hi" she was surprised with her voice being shy and low, almost to whisper.

Before he could ask her why she was at his door

"I came here to… to … check up on you, so how are you feeling?" she asked, laughing a little bit, '_why the hell are you laughing'_ her inner Sakura raised a brow.

"Well, look at me! Never been better!" he answered with his cute smile that she adored.

"Umm Sakura-chan why are you here? I thought you were on a mission?" he asked.

"What you don't want to see me?" she teased

"NO! Sakura-chan that's not what I meant! Its just tha—"

She chuckled "ok whatever, now you gonna let me stand here?" she smirked.

"Oh sorry!" he took a step back to let her in.

'_OKAY step one which was to find him is completed! STEP TWO! Confess!_' she mentally pumped a fist in the air.

* * *

_**(edited 6.12.2014 :')**_


	7. Mine

**This is the final chapter, thank you for reading *^***

**I would like to thank NinjaRace for editing this chapter \^v^/**

**Disclaimer: if I owned Naruto I would at least bring jiraiya,asuma,itachi back to life. AND NEJI! (Almost forgot him)**

**But that's **_**If**_

**It all belongs to Kishi.**

* * *

_**Previously on Promised Confession:**_

'_OKAY step one which was to find him is completed! STEP TWO! Confess!_' she mentally pumped a fist in the air.

"Sakura-chan come in," he said

She stepped inside; the scent of ramen reached her nostrils. She heard him close the door. Naruto would probably bolt through it if she gave lectured him about his ramen habit, but instead she focused on her real reason for coming . Because she almost lost him, even if this disease was now gone from his system, that doesn't mean that his life wasn't in danger. She needs to be by his side, its not that she wasn't, she is, but now it's going on a complete new level. If she waited even a second longer it would become a gamble. It wouldn't be long before other girls assumed interest in Naruto and that would just be a nightmare.

She mentally laughed, him? Other girls? But then her eyes widen, she turned around for a millisecond to look at the roses that were in front of his door. '_The fangirls_' they would throw themselves at him, she didn't care if he is ready to start a relationship with one of them, okay maybe she cared, but yet the fact that they are here, latching on her Naruto. Oh! Like she would let that happen, but..

"Sakura-chan?"

Did she have to be jealous to know how deep her feelings were for him? That thought frightened her, not because she wasn't sure of her feelings, but because she was in love with him, so deep in love that it scared her… Predicting the future. . . It was just a little girls fantasy right?

"S~akura-chan?"

Letting him go now, leaving him for now will only make her worry, Why risk her heart getting torn in two pieces when he was staring at her right now.

Speaking of in front of her…

"Y-yes" she smiled fakely. Eyes fixated on his chest which she immediately regretted, her smile faded, astonished at how good looking he was. Its not like she didn't find him attractive before. Her mind did a little flashback to when she first saw him shirtless, she was patching a broken rib, her cheeks went red as a tomato, his broad shoulders and tanned skin hidden under his black orange jacket. Ino teased her for a week about it.

She looked at anything but his fox-like cute face; he was too much for her now. Her hands were little clammy; she was fidgeting with the corner of her sweater. She took a deep breath.

"Naruto I have to tell you something" her eyes were full of determination now, she dared to look at his eyes. Naruto recognize this look, she wore it whenever her mind was in work-mode or when she was solving a puzzle. This look of hers signified her shyness. He knew it all; they have been together for too long. No wonder she came straight to him, she wanted to get whatever _this thing, _was between them over with once and for all.

"H-how about we eat ramen first?" he nervously laughed, scratching the back of his head. Whatever his crush was about to tell him it was something he couldn't handle. This was his worst case scenario, anything to stop it, stall it for just a few more minutes. But he regretted his thoughts.

"No, ramen can wait" she retorted.

This is obviously not a nightmare because it's happening. He cursed himself, why did he not see this coming? Why did he let her know about his undeniable affection that he held towards her? It would have been better if she did not know, at least then he can still admire her pretty face, he can still talk to her as a friend. But it was too late. If he had one wish, it would be to go back a year and make this moment never happen.

He was surprised by her determination in crushing his heart, was she planning on rejecting him and then eat ramen with him? Not that he didn't mind, no wait, HE DID!

"Look first, I wanna say that I'm sorry" If she was direct in her confession he might take it badly, like before in the cold snow when her freezing words froze his heart.

'_I don't need to apologize for anything!_" her inner self heeded her. But who was her inner self to come out of nowhere to tell her what to say and what not to say.

"For confessing to you, you should know that it was the biggest mistake I ever did, and its my biggest regret, you have no idea how I hate myself for it" she added sourly, she didn't notice how her confession sounded more like as if she was friend-zoning him.

But it was her biggest regret, for at that time when Sai told her that Naruto still loved her, she hated him, he was a fool for still loving her, for still weighing his promise on his shoulders. She thought that he had given up on those feelings like she had given up on her Uchiha teammate. But she should know better, he was Naruto, he never gave up.

"Sakura-chan its oka-" the last thing he wanted was her to feel bad about something that happened two years ago.

"Wait don't say a thing, just hear me out! Because I don't think I can say it again"

She interrupted him, she didn't wanna hear his "its okays" and "I forgive yous" it will only make her feel so bad about herself.

Sakura cringed trying to stop her confidence from hitting absolute zero.

Naruto's expression sulked but then brightened, the same expressions he used when he saw her hugging Sasuke at the hospital back before he left. He smiled to himself, he saw that he never change even after all these years, his heart never changed, he still wanted her to be happy.

"You see, I thought about it, I really did" she was blushing, looking down at her feet.

Suddenly he wanted to disappear.

"Naruto you're my best friend, you always stood by my side, even when i treated you badly"

He unconsciously took a couple of steps back.

"So you should know." still holding the end of her sweater, while avoiding his gaze

She was too busy and lost in her thoughts trying to get the three words out of her mouth to notice his shaking form.

The door opens viciously.

"That my answer to you… is that I-" she looked up to see Naruto… was gone.

She looked at him, but saw an empty space, door wide open. She could make out a sound of fast steps that are fading by the minute

'_Did he just ran away?'_

She walked to the door, she saw him running away from her..

"NAAAARUUTOO! COME BACK HERE!" she shouted on top of her lungs.

She didn't have time to use the stairs; she pumped chakra to her feet and jumped to the ground chasing him.

The hell he was doing? She was just about to tell him that she loves him, and he just storms off? She worked so fucking hard in her confession and now he runs away?

"SAKURA I'M SORRY" he turned his head to glance at her, '_My gosh, she's going to kill me!' _he increased his speed.

She ignored whatever his apology was. "WHY THE FU-" she saw him make a turn to the Hokage tower.

The Hokage set aside her last set of paperwork. She had two more stacks but they would just have to wait. Shizune brought her a tray with her favorite drink that fizzed like sweet syrup. She tipped the bottle to her mouth.

"NARUTO YOU ASSHOLE" a shout came not too far from her office.

Was that her apprentice? She stood up from her seat and looked from the window while holding her cup. She saw her student chasing after… she looked a head, was that…Naruto? Now what did that stupid blonde do again she happily wondered. When Shizune walked in. Tsunade's brow's twitched.

Haruno Sakura concentrated chakra into her legs and ran faster, she increased her speed at the flash of blonde hair, and she was so close to him. "Naruto! Wait! I was gonna-" she saw him make his way to the market.

It was filled with civilians, kids, selling and buying, bargaining and stuff that happened in the market. When they saw the duo running around, some of the laughed and smiled and some complained.

The medic ran looking for a blonde head, not in her previous speed, she was afraid she might cause some damage. This place was too crowded!

Her eyes kept scanning the crowd when she saw the blonde changing his route she followed him quickening her pace.

The moment she was out, she ran as fast as shouting his name, she heard a yelp from the trees ahead, she just realized they were so close to he training grounds, which was perfect so now she didn't have to worry about any damages.

She saw a blonde tresses sticking out of the bushes, did he purposely wanted her to find him?

She didn't really care right now.

But then she saw him getting further away. She restarted her speed again.

This time she shouted "NARUTO UZUMAKI"

She boosted her speed to the MAX, she was done with chasing her so called boyfriend, and when she reached him he was going to be sorry. Her grip was tough he couldn't run away. She pinned him to the nearest tree, her hands holding him by the arm.

She was catching her breath and so was he. She closed her eyes, and then looked at him.

"Why… in the hell… you were running away?!" her question was out in whispers and pants.

"When someone is talking to you the decent thing you can do is to listen" she huffed.

He didn't say anything.

"Naruto Uzumaki, you are one hell of a ninja" she snickered.

He looked at her, annoyed. But her laugh made his lips curve a little.

"I came to tell you one thing and I am going to say it and then you could go run away if you want" her mint green eyes locked on his azures.

She saw his arm relax under her firm grip. '_Good he is listening.'_

Now, before her nervousness attack her mind.

"I…seem to have like you," she blurted out. All shyness was dissipating in the thin air, or she thought.

The blonde looked at her, blinked several times. His face was stern and motionless but his eyes did not lie. It was filled with disbelief.

"I don't think its 'like' anymore" she smiled

"I am starting to believe its love" she looked down at her feet, she slowly let go of him. She was smiling her cheeks were painted red. She told him the truth, this was her first confession, she also told him how vulnerable it made her feel.

Now it was his turn.

Was he dreaming? Yes he was… he was definitely dreaming. It had happened in his dreams, that she returned his feelings… but his dreams always end up with him falling off his bed, or his eyes would slowly recognize the ceiling, leaving him in a spar with his mind and heart, in pretending to be content with their friend relationship.

He looked at her, how her cheeks were flushed, how her gaze softened, how she was so close to him, Oh he was in all rightness dreaming.

"Sakura. I am dating someone else" now if he was dreaming she would punch him, or disappear or do both so, he will finally wake up.

But what he saw was something he did not expect.

And she heard something she did not expect.

Her expression fell. Eyes meeting his, how solemn he was. He even tore the 'chan' off her name.

He never called her 'Sakura' so plainly, but he did. She questioned herself again why was she so upset? Oh wait, he is with _someone else_.

'_OH! That's why he was running away_', she mentally wanted to stab herself with a kunai, what was I thinking, chasing him like a mad woman. She suddenly felt so ashamed with herself.

Then it hit her like shuriken rolling its way to her, it's had been a _month_, since his confession, his mission, his time at the hospital… Of course he'd with someone else. He must be, he has every right to be, he needed to move on,

'But I was about to…' tell him.

She shut herself with another thought 'Karma' it was a payback.

He would chase her and now she chased him, she would reject him and now he is rejecting her.

What was she expecting? She's not thirteen anymore, its not all happy endings, rainbows and sun shines. She felt something form in her eyes. Oh great, her eyes decided to let out waterfalls and it was the last thing she wanted Naruto to see. She didn't want to sniff or let him see her face, she didn't want him to see her sad. Thank god her hair was covering her face while she looked down at her feet.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know" she smiled at him, turned and a walked away.

Her vision were blurring, she noticed she was holding her breath she sniffed, her tears are filling her eyes but kept her pace, holding herself together till she reach her apartment was her mission.

She felt him tugging her wrist and before she could think of punching him in the gut, he held her in his embrace. Her tears are staining his shirt unwillingly.

"Aren't you dating someone else" she tried moving out of his hug but he held her close.

He whispered his sorry. She punched lightly in the gut, and released himself from his hold. She stepped back. Looking anywhere but him. "Why the hell did you say that? Are you taking my feelings for granted?" she protested. She wasn't leaving off the hook. Was he lying to her? Was he questioning her feelings?

"No... Sakura-chan this is not… I didn't mean… " He stuttered, he did not mean to make her cry, he hated seeing her tears, her sad face, he hated himself for being the reason behind them.

"It's was too good to be true," he mumbled.

"Huh?!" she was wiping her tears with the back of her hands.

"I never thought I had a chance.." he mumbled again avoiding meeting her teary eyes.

"Is that why you ran away? And then made up some lie about dating someone else? Did you thought that I will discard you?" her voice was soft. She couldn't be mad at him. Did he think that she would reject him?

He nodded after seconds.

All she could do was smile. And her smile went to giggles. He couldn't help but to smile, his took step closer to finish the gap between them.

"You know since you gave me your answer, I think we should seal it"

Taking a step closer to him, their bodies almost touch. "Seal it?" She grinned, looking at him.

Their faces are so close, "yes" he replied with a little bit enthusiasm in his voice

"You knew a pinky promise" he added, he raises his pinky finger

"Oh" the only thing that came out of her mouth, and her face was red as tomatoes. Was she hoping they would kiss?

Their pinkies enclosed together. Her face is still red, her lips curving upwards making a smile that Naruto was looking at and he was in daze, she only showed this smile to Sasuke and now she is smiling at him with it.

she was looked at their 'seal' she felt like a kid yet it felt right, she saw him kissing her pinky and the touch of his lips were soft, causing her face to redden in shades of red if that was possible.

He swoop in to steal a kiss, their lips met, it took her time to realize that he was kissing her, his soft lips brushing against hers, his lips lingering on hers for an amount of time, he is waiting for her to kiss him back, and she does, bringing her arms to his neck, pressing her body against him.

he never thought he would be like this with her, wrapping his arms around her waist, hugging her precious body, kissing her lips, he felt like he was on cloud nine. Her pink locks brushing against his whiskered cheeks, their minds were in a merry go around. He gently broke the kiss as they grasping for air. His whiskered cheeks are painted in pure red.

The next minute he propped her body in a bridal style around his arms, carrying her all the way on top of the Hokage Mountain. She could feel his strong flexed muscles around her, her face buried in his chest, listening to his heart beats that had the same speed as hers.

As they reach their destination, he let go of her gently, feeling annoyed that he had to let go of her, he got this fuzzy giddy feeling whenever she was close to him and it increased at this proximity, he loved carrying her petite body that had an incredible strength in it, he loved having her close to him, how her head was close to his chest, he wanted to feel her warmth.

As she was standing next to him, facing the full view of the village. She noticed him moving, to her surprise he leaned down and got on one knee, this position was only used if someone were to propose..she thought

He looked at her emerald eyes, he raised his hands as he said

"Haruno Sakura, will you be mine?"

She was shocked, not surprised but shocked _'Heck yeah' _she said inside her mind, but in the outside she was silenced by his unneeded proposal she jumped giving him a big hug showering his face with kisses, as she said "yes" between the lovely kisses, that made Naruto fell on his back with both arm around her waist, his face was flushed in deep shades of red, while his mind trying to process that amount of kisses he was getting from his flower.

* * *

**-Posted before the end of August \^o^/**

**-I didn't want Natuto asking Sakura to be his girlfriend, I liked the way he asked "will you be mine" it had an indication that their relationship will be for eternity.**

**-****I can write an extra chapter, if requested.** **DECEMBER UPDATES :D **


End file.
